Outdoor season starts this coming Monday April 16 (Practice start time has been moved to 6:30 PM !!)

As was discussed at the Team Meeting this past Wednesday night, youth track practices start this coming Monday, April 16.

Track practices will take place Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, except for the following dates:

– Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day)

– Monday, July 2 (day off to rest following the AAU Junior Olympics National Qualifier weekend)

– Wednesday, July 4 (Independence Day)

Track practices will take place at the OLDUniversity of Michigan outdoor track (also known as Ferry Field), located at 1150 S State Street, on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. Please note track practices may be moved later to another location during the season (TBD), since there is a pending construction project to take place at the old University of Michigan outdoor track.

NOTE:

Track practices will last up to 2 hours each night, which is 30 minutes longer than last year. The coaching staff decided today that it would be best to move the start time 30 minutes earlier (to 6:30 PM) so that all the kids will be done no later than 8:30 PM at this early point of the season since our grade-school and middle-school kids are still in school. We will move the start time back to 7 PM later in the spring to give commuters more time to get their kids to practice. So for the time being, practice times will be as follows:

ELITE/Travel team (anyone turning 14 this year or older, OR plans to compete in meets regardless of age): 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Rec & Ed group (anyone turning 13 this year or younger AND not planning to compete in meets): 6:30 – 7:30/8 PM

MORE NOTES:

The weather is supposed to be unseasonably cold this coming Monday night, but we will be practicing, regardless. So everyone please dress accordingly. Athletes should wear sweats or warm-ups to practice due to the cold. For those who were with the club last year, keep in mind the old indoor track building right across the parking has been re-purposed with a turf field and the track surface itself was removed this past fall. So we no longer have the luxury of training indoors like we did in past years in case of inclement weather. We can still go inside to use the restrooms and such, but we can no longer run inside. We will have to train outside now all the time, and contend with the weather as much as reasonable. In the event the weather is too dangerous to train outside, then practices will be canceled. But for this coming Monday night, we will deal with the cold.

The bleachers that used to be along the fence on the near side of the old UM outdoor track have been removed. Parents will either have to bring chairs if they wish to sit outside during practices, or sit in their cars.

The baseball stadium is also right across the parking lot from the old UM outdoor track. There are baseball games going on now at night. Fly balls periodically end up in the parking lot. So I recommend parking at the far end of the parking lot when there are night games going on to avoid your cars getting hit by fly balls.